Seaspiracy & why we need to STOP fishing

I am dedicated to making eco swaps and trying to switch from single use plastics to reusable alternatives wherever we can. But the biggest cause of plastic pollution in our ocean by FAR is caused by the fishing industry. This week we watched Seaspiracy and I was shocked and appalled at the ethical and environmental impact of the fishing industry. Here are some reasons why...

🐚 It's estimated that 46% of the waste in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is fishing nets. By comparison, 0.03% is made up of plastic straws. 

🐚 Over 300,000 whales and dolphins are killed every single year as 'bycatch' of industrial fishing, along with 50 MILLION sharks. Even when 'bycatch' is thrown back into the water they're unlikely to survive due to trauma or lack of oxygen.

🐚 40% of global fishing catch is unused or wasted.

🐚This is destroying the natural food chain and biodiversity in our oceans. It's wiping out corals, entire species of fish and other sea creatures. But if the oceans die, so do we. Up to 85% of the oxygen we breathe comes from the sea, it is the biggest carbon sink we have. And we're destroying it.

🐚 "Dolphin safe" labels are unregulated and can be purchased. Fishing nets - especially trawl nets - don't discriminate: Tuna, shrimp, dolphins, and sharks are all caught and killed in them. One instance was documented where a tuna fishing vessels had slaughtered 45 dolphins in order to catch eight tuna - and these vessels were supplying "dolphin-safe" canned tuna.

🐚 Less than one percent of our oceans are protected from global fishing.

🐚 There are humanitarian issues too - for example, illegal fishing in West Africa creates food shortages for the local populations; and shrimp caught in Thailand using slave labour.

🐚 Trawling is one of the biggest causes if damage to the sea and it's biodiversity - 3.9 billion acres of seafloor is deforested each year, compared to 25 million acres of forest on land.

I am all for eco swaps, but we need to look at our list of priorities and what we can do to reduce the most damage - and supply and demand is key. If we care about our oceans (and planet), we NEED to stop overfishing and allow the seas to restore their biodiversity. The biggest thing we can do about climate change is to protect the ocean, and as consumers the biggest action we can take is by voting with our money and not supporting industries that are so corrupt and damaging.

Have you watched Seaspiracy yet?